Fragments of Buddhist sculpture from Deoria, Allahabad District

Photograph of sculpture pieces and fragments of a torana and railings from Deoria, taken by Joseph David Beglar in the1870s. Around the modern villages of Deoria and nearby Bhita are the remains of an ancient city, occupied from about 2500 years ago for a number of centuries. In a report of a series of tours in that area in 1874-75 and 1876-77, A. Cunningham wrote, "In Deoriya itself numerous sculptures were discovered, but more or less broken. Among these was a piece of a straight Toran beam with three standing figures, the end of which, with a crocodile, was found in Bitha... These fragments are certainly Buddhist, but the drawing is rude, and the workmanship coarse...Several fragments of Buddhist sculpture of the Gupta period were also found, besides several broken pillars of a later date. But the most curious discovery was the portion of a wheel of twelve spokes, with the felloes completely covered with mango foliage and fruit. ... there is nothing to show whether it is part of a Dharmachakra or Buddhist wheel."